Ascension
by Crooky
Summary: As Shinji's condition deteriorates, the agenda of a clandestine organization begins to surface... Will Shinji be able to save himself and the ones he loves from their murderous schemes?
1. Prologue: A Father's Love

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Ascension By Crooky Crookerson  
  
Disclaimer: I do...........n't own Evangelion. Had you going there for a sec, didn't I?  
  
Prologue: A Father's Love  
  
***  
  
Deep within the infinite darkness of space, an ancient entity stirred from its millennia-long slumber. Floating languidly on cosmic winds, Zeruel, Angel of Might, sensed that he was now nearing his destination. He had searched for this place for thousands of years, the distant cry of his parent being the only guiding light.  
  
But now, the cure to his malady was within reach.  
  
Zeruel was immense, immortal and powerful; godlike to the other children of Lilith and Adam. Lesser Angels feared to even mention his name and mortals trembled in his shadow, but for all his power Zeruel was hollow inside. His soul was wounded.  
  
The timelessness of existence had long ago grown sour.  
  
A thousand times a thousand years ago, Zeruel had set out to rediscover the warm embrace of his father; an embrace that could heal any wound, no matter how deep. He had let himself be carried by celestial winds across measureless distances of deep space to reach his father.  
  
He beckoned to him. He cried for all his children to return to him.  
  
The voice was but a whisper, but Zeruel could still hear the father.  
  
He promised that all the pain would end.  
  
Now, desperate for relief from his constant anguish, he had found his father's prison. It was infested with pathetic mortal creatures; beings that had no purpose in the universe other than to breed and die. They were the ones who kept his father locked away. These pitiful creatures could not stand in his way.  
  
Wasting no time, Zeruel began his assault.  
  
They would fall before the Angel of Might. 


	2. Chapter 01: Seeds of Power

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Ascension  
  
By Crooky Crookerson  
  
Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure that I don't own Evangelion. If I did, I'd be getting more fan mail.  
  
Chapter One: Seeds of Power  
  
***  
  
"Keep trying," Gendo Ikari ordered, maintaining a façade of quiet calm despite the emergency at hand. Unit 01 was had refused Rei, and was now refusing the Dummy Plug. Third Impact was seemingly inevitable at this point. This was not in accordance with the scenario. "Repeat the process from step one-zero-eight."  
  
His reverie was interrupted by the voice of the last person he had expected to see.  
  
"Let me pilot it!"  
  
***  
  
An explosion resounded throughout the NERV complex as the main shaft was forcibly opened by the energy blasts of Zeruel, the 14th Angel. The monstrous beast grinned internally, since no facial expression could register on the face it had assumed, and prepared to be reunited with his father.  
  
"We've been breached!" was all Shigeru had to say to confirm the dreadful suspicions of the rest of the bridge crew. "Target is inside the main shaft! It's advancing!"  
  
"Where's it heading?" Misato asked, her voice tinged with a hint of panic.  
  
"It's advancing directly towards Central Dogma!" Hyuga replied.  
  
"It's coming here, all personnel evacuate!" Misato ordered quickly. The order was repeated over the Comm. System as the command bridge was shut down and abandoned. Unfortunately, before the bridge crew could even leave their seats, the holographic projection screen was shattered as the Angel broke through into the command center.  
  
Leaning in close, Zeruel inspected the tiny mortals for a moment. His hatred for these pitiful creatures was boundless, and he smiled once again before his eyes began to glow with a tell-tale yellow light. Suddenly, the massive form of Unit 01 broke through an adjacent wall and crashed into the preoccupied angel.  
  
"Eva Unit 01?" Misato stammered. Had the Dummy Plug been accepted? Realization hit the Major like a ton of bricks as she suddenly understood who was in the entry plug. "S-Shinji?"  
  
Inside the entry plug, Shinji screamed as he attempted to pummel the Angel into submission. The two behemoths crashed through walls, with little concern for the condition of the command center itself.  
  
Shinji raised the massive fist of Unit 01 as he prepared to unleash all his rage upon the Angel. He was rewarded with a searing pain as Unit 01's arm was shot of at the elbow by Zeruel's energy blast. Grabbing his arm in pain, Shinji screamed again and kicked the Angel onto one of the launch catapults.  
  
"Misato!" the enraged Third Child yelled, hoping the major would understand his intent.  
  
"Launch the fifth catapult!" Misato ordered, and both of the titanic combatants were lifted off the ground at incredible velocity. Sparks flew as the pilot of Unit 01 willed his Eva to grind the Angel's mask-like face against the walls of the catapult shaft.  
  
As the catapult reached its apex the two monstrous beings were sent flying into the air. Shinji continued to scream, even as Eva Unit 01 landed atop the Angel as they struck the ground, and, with its only remaining arm, continued to deliver powerful blows to the angel's face-mask.  
  
Gripping the face of the downed Angel, the Third Child grinned in murderous delight as he attempted to tear it off. Tendons stretched as the face-mask began to come loose. Suddenly, the internal power of Unit 01 ran out, and Shinji was at the Angel's mercy.  
  
"Huh...? Energy reserves depleted..." He said, half in shock and half in fear.  
  
***  
  
In one of the access elevators leading to the surface, Maya informed her companions of the situation on the surface. "Unit One has completely drained its reserves! The backup power supply isn't working!"  
  
"Shinji..." Misato whispered. Completely helpless, she could only silently pray the Angel would be merciful.  
  
In her heart, she knew that it wouldn't.  
  
***  
  
Infuriated and in unbelievable pain, Zeruel wrapped his mono-filament ribbon arms around the head of Unit 01, lifted it high into the air, and ferociously threw the helpless Eva into a rocky outcropping, just as the bridge crew arrived on the surface.  
  
"Shinji!" Misato screamed as she exited onto the Geo-Front. She could only watch helplessly and scream his name as the Angel slowly floated over to the prone form of Unit 01. "Shinji!!"  
  
Within the Eva's entry plug, Shinji wrestled helplessly with the butterfly controls. No matter how much he wanted it to, the drained Evangelion would not respond. "Damnit, move, move, move, come on, move you god damn piece of junk! Move or there's no point to any of this, damnit" The entry plug suddenly shoot, breaking Shinji's mantra, and sending waves of pain through his shoulder.  
  
Outside, Zeruel tested the prone Eva, slicing through its shoulder with a mono-filament blade. Seeing no reaction, the Angel of Might decided to end this quickly. The Eva had put up a valiant effort, and Zeruel was not completely without compassion for defeated opponents.  
  
Eyes glowing, the Angel blasted away the chest armor of Unit 01, revealing a large crimson orb; Unit 01's core.  
  
"What's that?" Misato could only stare in shock at the newly exposed core.  
  
Wasting no time, Zeruel began striking at the core with its mono-filament blades, over and over again. Normally, the ultra-thin strips would cut through anything in one attack, but the core was far too dense for the blades to penetrate it so easily.  
  
Inside the entry plug, Shinji could only watch in horror as the armor began to crack. "Move, move, move! Move, come on, move! Oh god, you've got to move now or everyone will be killed! Oh god I'm sick of it already! Oh come on move! God damn you to hell, you filthy stinking monster!"  
  
Suddenly, he heard a heartbeat.  
  
***  
  
Zeruel could only wince in surprise and pain as the Evangelion awoke once more, raised a hand, and parted the Angel's blades as if they had the consistency of water. Gripping the ruined blade-arms, Unit 01 pulled the Angel until the two titans were face to monstrous face.  
  
Letting loose a feral growl, the Eva then kicked the Angel back with all its power, tearing the ribbon arm it held, and sent the Angel crashing to the ground far away.  
  
Maya was the first member of the bridge crew to voice the obvious. "It's reactivating..."  
  
Unit 01 brought the shredded portion of the Angel's arm up to its own shattered arm. Gritting its teeth with effort and pain, the Eva's arm began to knit itself together with the material from the Angel.  
  
"Oh my god..." Misato muttered in disbelief. Maya voice broke the silence. "This... is impossible... It must be wrong! How can Shinji's sync ration with Unit 01 be over four hundred percent?!?"  
  
"It's finally happened," Ritsuko said ominously. "It's aware."  
  
Zeruel was not about to give up so easily though, and attested to that fact when its other mono-filament ribbon blade shot up from the trees, aimed at the Eva's throat.  
  
Almost lazily, Unit 01 raised an arm and brought it down, summoning its AT field directly on top of Zeruel's blade. The ribbon-arm was torn to shreds, and the flying pieces shot back at the Angel with unbelievable velocity, cutting through the Angel's AT field as if it wasn't there, and tearing Zeruel's body apart in an explosion of blood.  
  
Unit 01 slowly hunched over and began to creep towards the prone Angel. Knowing the battle was lost, Zeruel prepared a last ditch effort to defeat the Eva. The bridge crew could only watch in stunned silence as the Eva leaned over helpless Angel, narrowed its eyes, and bit into the dying creature.  
  
"It's eating the Angel..." Misato whispered.  
  
"The S2 Organ... She's taking it into herself. Eva Unit One is... is..." Ritsuko managed to stammer. She didn't get to finish her thoughts, as they were interrupted by a sickened Maya.  
  
Suddenly, the Angel's form exploded in a flash of brilliant light. Eva Unit 01 bellowed in agony as the surge of energy engulfed its body. Shinji, his body dissolved within the entry plug of the berserk Evangelion, his soul united with the long-dormant consciousness of Unit 01, felt his form being forcibly knitted back together as the nigh-infinite power of the Angel washed over Unit 01.  
  
Memories flashed before his eyes. Thoughts and urges pushed their way into his mind. Power, unlike any he had ever felt before, insinuated itself into his body, his very soul. Pain. Anger. Hatred. He gripped his head in anguish and once more fell into the soothing dark of oblivion.  
  
Misato gaped at the scene. Both the Angel and Unit 01 had gone silent. Stunned, she only managed to mutter a few quiet words that were barely heard by her companions. "Retrieve the entry plug... Get Shinji out of that... that monster..."  
  
***  
  
Ritsuko watched as Shinji was removed from the Eva's entry plug, lost within her tumultuous inner monologue. The retrieval effort had taken nearly eight hours. They had needed to cut him out forcibly, since the heat generated by the Angel's last attack had caused much of the Eva's armor to melt and fuse together.  
  
But Shinji shouldn't even have been in there at all.  
  
"Four hundred percent synchronization ratio," the Doctor mumbled to herself. She removed her glasses and rubbed her weary eyes. This result wasn't even possible, as far as the process of synchronization was concerned. She replayed the series of events in her mind, but always came to the same conclusion; Shinji should have been absorbed by the Evangelion.  
  
Doctor Akagi mentally reviewed everything that was known about synchronization.  
  
There were four levels of synchronization, divided into percentile brackets, each bracket being a hundred percent. Humans cannot normally achieve a level higher than one hundred percent. That was simply as far as their weak mental capacity allowed them to go, except under extreme circumstances.  
  
The four levels were codenamed body, heart, mind, and soul. The first level, the body, occurs when two individuals were able to influence the movements of their partner, like an Evangelion and its pilot. The heart level takes place at two hundred percent and upwards, and wherein the two individuals feel the same emotions. The mind level is achieved at three hundred percent, where the individuals in essence become one. They think the same thoughts with a joint personality. At four hundred, the soul level, the two beings become one inseparable individual.  
  
This has been proven before, in the case of Yui Ikari, who had achieved a synchronization ratio of four hundred percent and had become absorbed into Unit 01.  
  
However, Shinji was obviously not one with the Evangelion, otherwise he would not currently be on his way to the NERV Infirmary.  
  
Ritsuko sighed audibly. The Commander was likely to have her working multiple shifts to solve this mystery.  
  
She hoped the coffee machine had been fixed.  
  
***  
  
For all her trying, Asuka couldn't understand why she was keeping watch over an unconscious Shinji while he stayed the night at the Infirmary. She knew that she had been ordered to by Misato, as the two were rotating shifts in keeping watch, but she couldn't understand why she didn't just forget about the idiot and go home.  
  
It was probably because she wanted to be left alone, and being next to a cataleptic Shinji was pretty much the same thing.  
  
At least that's what she told herself.  
  
In truth, she was concerned about the Third Child.  
  
As angry as she was by his knight-in-shining-armor routine, she couldn't abandon him right now. Misato had been frantic. Something truly awful must have happened to Shinji after Unit 02 had been disabled, and nobody would tell Asuka exactly what that was. It must have been really, really bad.  
  
The redhead glanced over at the comatose boy. He was grimacing in pain, and twitching sporadically. His jaw was set and his fists were clenched tightly, the knuckles turned white. Beads of sweat were covering his forehead, and not because of the temperature.  
  
"Why do you always do this?" She muttered at him. "Why do you always have to be the tragic hero? What good does that make me, if you're just going to save the day all the time? Why are you taking away my reason for living? If I'm not the best Eva pilot... then I'm nothing at all..."  
  
The Second Child closed her eyes and a single tear made its way down her cheek. Many more tears should have come, but Asuka's pride wouldn't allow more than one.  
  
"I hate you, Shinji Ikari," she whispered. "Because you're making me realize how much I hate myself."  
  
***  
  
Shinji was standing on the surface of an ocean that spanned endlessly in all directions. He wasn't floating above the water, just standing on it as if it were solid ground. Based on that observation alone, he knew this wasn't going to be an ordinary dream. He glanced down at his reflection and took stock of himself.  
  
He looked worn and haggard.  
  
Lifting his gaze once more, the Third Child stared out into the distance, hoping that maybe a friendly boat would come by. He didn't really feel like walking back to shore.  
  
The absurdity of that thought made him chuckle.  
  
But long after he stopped laughing, he continued to hear a light chuckle. Checking his surroundings once more, Shinji confirmed that there was indeed no one within eyesight. Realizing where this dream was heading, his gaze uneasily fell back to his watery reflection.  
  
It was laughing at him.  
  
"Who are you?" Shinji asked the other child.  
  
"I am you," the underwater Shinji replied. "Or, I should say, I am the you that was once you. A subconscious part of you that you didn't even know existed."  
  
Shinji just nodded and smiled. "I understand completely."  
  
The other Shinji sighed. "Let me put it this way. The Shinji Ikari when you were four years old is a different Shinji Ikari than you are now. Try as you might, you can't go back to being that Shinji Ikari, because that part of you is long gone. I am in the same situation. I am another Shinji Ikari, and even now I am fading away to be replaced by a different Shinji Ikari."  
  
"I think I understand," Shinji said. "When will the next Shinji Ikari get here?"  
  
"Soon," the other Shinji replied, even as he began to sink deep into the depths of the ocean. Within moments that Shinji was gone, having faded away into memory.  
  
Shinji waited quietly for the next Shinji to arrive. Second later, a shape began to form beneath him. It was large, far too large to be Shinji. Details began getting clearer, as a frowning metallic mask appeared, as well as an orange, gray, and black body with no discernable limbs.  
  
"What the hell?" Shinji cried.  
  
A hollow laugh reverberated all around him, originating from the reflection below him. Twin mono-filament blade arms unfolded and began waving menacingly.  
  
"What the hell are you?" Shinji screamed, panic gripping him. Looking at his hands, he realized that his body was slowly changing to match that of the creature below him.  
  
"You are me..." the monstrous reflection told him, and soon it was true. Shinji had changed into an exact copy of the monster. The creature's blade- arms reared back, swaying back and forth, then shot forward and broke through the water's surface, arching directly for Shinji's face.  
  
He screamed.  
  
***  
  
Shinji awoke screaming, covered in sweat and arms flailing wildly. His shriek was matched by the surprised redhead who was keeping watch over him. Once the noise had died down, the two teens stared at each other for a moment before Asuka chose to break the silence.  
  
"Stupid Shinji!" she yelled at him, accenting her point with a punch in the arm. "You scared me half to death! Don't scream like that ever again!"  
  
"Sorry, sorry," the bruised Third Child muttered, cowering away from any further abuse. Another few moments of silence passed between them. Shinji was the first to break the quiet. "Asuka?"  
  
"What?" was her indignant reply.  
  
"Why..." he began slowly, wary of the German girl's temper. "Why are you here, exactly?"  
  
The comment seemed to start the gears turning once more in Asuka's head. She sneered at him. "I'm here because Misato ordered me to make sure you didn't die in the middle of the night, or something equally stupid. But, now that you're awake, I can go."  
  
"Oh... Misato ordered you," Shinji mumbled to himself.  
  
"I'll tell a nurse that you're awake on my way out," the redhead said over her shoulder as she walked out the door. She slammed the door shut without even saying goodbye.  
  
Shinji took a deep breath, still shaken from the disturbing dream. He held his hand up in front of his face, and while there was very little light in the room he was sure that it was a normal human hand as opposed to an ultra- thin blade. Slumping back into his bed, Shinji replayed the dream over in his head.  
  
"You... are me?" the Third Child muttered. "What could that meaaaAAARRGGH!!!"  
  
His train of thought was suddenly derailed when his senses were assailed by blast after blast of horrendous pain. He felt like his insides were being shuffled around inside of him, and like he might burst out of his skin at any moment. A searing pain began developing in his chest, and he tore at his hospital gown to reveal a dull red light emanating from inside of him.  
  
His agonized screams reached a crescendo as the pain peaked, and then slowly waned. The light faded, and Shinji was wreathed in darkness once more. The Third Child was still slightly gasping for breath a few minutes later when the nurse, sent by Asuka, entered his room.  
  
***  
  
The next three days were not pleasant for Shinji Ikari. He was poked and prodded with all manner of alien-looking devices, all of which were designed to inflict the maximum amount of discomfort. It was all worth it, though, when they told him that he was in top physical condition and that he could leave the hospital the very next night.  
  
Shinji hadn't told the medical staff about the painful episode three days hence, and he had no intention of doing so. He hated hospitals, and chances were that they would want him to stay longer if they thought something was seriously wrong with him.  
  
The Third Child felt a tremendous sense of relief when he finally got home on the fourth, having been picked up from the hospital by Misato. As soon as he stepped through the door, he knew something was amiss. Shinji pondered this phenomenon for a few moments before the answer hit him like ton of bricks.  
  
It was too quiet.  
  
Shinji walked into the kitchen, where his guardian was polishing off a beer. "Misato, where's Asuka?"  
  
Misato's face fell slightly at the question. "Asuka's... she's staying at Hikari's for a few days... She said she needed to get away..." Misato trailed off.  
  
"From me," Shinji finished for her.  
  
"I'm sorry," Misato began, but he cut her off with a nonchalant wave of his hand.  
  
"Don't worry about it, I know what Asuka's like. I should have expected something like this to happen," he shrugged slightly. He yawned loudly and then bid Misato goodnight.  
  
***  
  
That same night, in the office of the Supreme Commander of NERV, Gendo Ikari and Ritsuko Akagi were discussing the results of the Third Child's medical report.  
  
"...and the findings are... inconclusive," the Doctor finished. She patiently waited for any reaction from the Commander, other than the withering stare he was giving her. To be fair, it was the same stare he gave everyone, but she had never gotten used to it.  
  
"Explain," Gendo finally said, after the longest minute of Ritsuko's life.  
  
"Well," Ritsuko paused and looked over the notes on her clipboard once more. "His muscle mass has increased by over sixty percent since his last checkup. All of his tissue scars have faded completely, as well as his birthmarks, moles, blemishes... Even the heart murmur that was detected during his birth examination is gone."  
  
"I believe this has something to do with the event during the 14th Angel's attack," she continued. "Unfortunately, the internal cameras and pilot moniters were damaged during the battle, so I can't get any information from the records. The Magi are currently deliberating, but I don't expect an answer any time soon."  
  
Gendo was silent for another long minute. "Will this affect his piloting capabilities?"  
  
"If anything, these... amendments... are for the better, and should increase his synchronization ratio accordingly," the Doctor informed him.  
  
"Very well, you are dismissed," Gendo told her. Ritsuko left the office without another word.  
  
As soon as the Doctor had left, a figure stepped out from the shadows beside the Commander's desk. "This is a deviation from the scenario, Ikari," Fuyutsuki said, after a moment of thought.  
  
"Unit One achieved awareness," Gendo told the Sub-commander. "Exactly as was foretold. This event is well within acceptable parameters. If anything, the fact that Unit One did not unite with the Third Child only shows that it is still under our control."  
  
Fuyutski chose not to respond. Something is out of place, he thought to himself. We've missed something, but what exactly? I've got a bad feeling about this.  
  
"Everything is moving in accordance with the scenario," Gendo said, to no one in particular. Then, Commander Ikari did the most unsettling thing that he ever could have done.  
  
He grinned.  
  
***  
  
Much later that night a privately owned jet, painted completely black with no identifying marks, made a stopover at the Tokyo 3 International Airport. Though the plane was not on the night's schedule, the control tower generously allowed the plane to land for refueling.  
  
Unknown to the airport personnel, a single passenger slipped away during the stop. Silently, she headed off into the city to find a hotel to stay at. Any observer would not have given her a second glance, for she blended into the crowd perfectly.  
  
That was part of her job.  
  
The only thing that set her apart from every other pedestrian was how absorbed she was in the four photographs that she carried. If anyone had actually given her more than a casual glance, they would have noticed that those pictures were of the four Children.  
  
To be continued...  
  
***  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES  
  
Thus begins the new first chapter of Ascension. After reading several informative reviews, I decided to scrap the old Ascension and rewrite it pretty much from the ground up. In retrospect, the old one wasn't even up to my standards. Ah well, that's what happens when I get too enthusuastic - I get sloppy. Oh well, a lesson learned and whatnot. The plot hasn't changed completely, just evolved. I want to make this a really good fan fic, not just a mediocre one. I hope I've accomplished that so far with this chapter.  
  
Oh, and as for the synchronization theory. That's just my own opinion on how it works. I just see the % as a rating of how connected the pilot is to the Evangelion. The named levels are just for convenience. Next chapter should be up soon! 


	3. Chapter 02: The Pains Within and the Pai...

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Ascension  
  
By Crooky Crookerson  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion. If Gainax ever tells me to remove my stories from the web, I'll laugh in their faces and say that they'll never find me. Then they'll somehow track me down and take everything I own.  
  
Chapter Two: The Pains Within and the Pains Without  
  
***  
  
The sun was just beginning its slow ascent over Tokyo 3. Sneaking in through open windows and between blinds, the gentle caress of sunlight caused the majority of the city to indignantly awaken. Shinji wasn't woken by the sun, though. He had the pleasure of waking up to a pounding headache.  
  
For a few minutes, the Third Child did little more than lay in bed and silently pray for relief from the hammering in his head.  
  
Until he saw what time it was.  
  
"I'm late!" Shinji cried in horror as he jumped out of bed and scrambled to put on his school uniform. There was no time to wash or eat breakfast now, and he figured he could buy his lunch at school instead of making one.  
  
Shinji was about to run out the door, planning on skipping breakfast, when he was crippled by powerful waves of hunger pangs. Cringing, he checked the clock again, and decided that he had enough time to eat a very quick meal. Growling in annoyance, the Third Child walked into the kitchen and dropped some bread into the toaster.  
  
While Shinji had never been a big eater, once he took a bite of that toast he just couldn't stop himself. Within a matter of minutes, the entire loaf was gone, half of it not even toasted because his patience with the toaster ran out. Leftovers from Misato's home-cooked dinners came next, and after that were basic ingredients that were hardly even edible unless combined with other food.  
  
By the time an hour had passed, Shinji had devoured all the edibles in the house.  
  
He still didn't feel full, but at least the hunger pangs had subsided. Without a moment to spare, Shinji dashed out the door and ran all the way to school.  
  
***  
  
In classroom 2-A the teacher was reciting his well-rehearsed monologue about Second Impact and most of the students were occupying themselves with talk or homework, all of which was fairly normal. That sense of normalcy was shattered once Shinji ran into the room, yelling an apology for being late.  
  
The class representative reprimanded him immediately, giving him two weeks of cleanup duty for being late and interrupting the class. A chorus of relieved sighs resounded throughout the room, coming from those students who had just been freed from cleanup for the time being.  
  
Despite the interruption, the teacher never missed a beat. He was far too absorbed in reliving the past to even notice what just took place.  
  
For Shinji the day was already off to a terrible start and, knowing his life, his bad luck would probably last for the rest of the week, at the very least. His shoulders slumped gloomily.  
  
His depression was interrupted by a call indicator popping up on his computer screen. He accepted the call and waited while the message was typed in.  
  
Why were you late?  
  
Normally Shinji would have looked up to see who was messaging him, but today he was already too depressed, and too hungry, to care. He had a fairly good idea who it was anyway, since neither Touji nor Kensuke were at school today. Asuka, he guessed as he languidly typed in a reply.  
  
Woke up later, had big breakfast.  
  
With that, the Third Child disconnected the call and turned off his computer. Trying to ignore the quickly returning jabs from his insatiable stomach, he settled into gazing about the room absent-mindedly. His eyes quickly found their way to Rei, the blue-haired pilot of Unit 00 and a definite enigma to the Third Child. It was then that Shinji realized two odd things.  
  
Rei was staring back at him.  
  
And she was frowning.  
  
Shinji didn't dare flinch as those scarlet eyes dissected him. He felt like she knew all of his secrets. The staring match continued for several tense moments, neither side giving even the slightest quarter. A minute turned into two, and then three. A few other students had noticed the two pilots, and several whispered rumors were already being circulated around the class.  
  
Shinji's eyes were starting to dry out. He desperately wanted to blink, and wondered if a person could go blind from keeping their eyes open too long. However, just when his resolve was about to wear out, Rei turned away from him and resumed looking out the window.  
  
The Third Child let out a long sigh, and returned to his internal monologue. Why was Rei suddenly so interested in him? Rei was never interested in anything! And why did she look so concerned with him? Sure, Shinji didn't look or feel his very best today, but the enigmatic First Child had never seemed to care before.  
  
Boredom mounting once more, Shinji could barely keep his eyes open. The droning of the old teacher had long since faded into the background, and since Touji was still in the hospital and Kensuke was absent, there was no one Shinji particularly wanted to talk to.  
  
He glanced over at Asuka. The redhead was doing her best to ignore the Third Child, though she occasionally tossed him dirty glances.  
  
Shinji shook his head and lay down on his desk, arms crossed to provide an impromptu cushion. "She's probably still mad about me beating her synch score," he muttered to himself.  
  
You earned that score.  
  
"I earned it," Shinji whispered.  
  
You're the best Evangelion pilot.  
  
"I am the best pilot," Shinji confirmed.  
  
But they don't respect you.  
  
"They don't. They hate me."  
  
They do hate you. You could change that.  
  
"How?"  
  
You have the power.  
  
"I have power?"  
  
Yes. You just have to open your heart to me.  
  
"Open my heart? I don't understand."  
  
You could end all the pain.  
  
"No more pain..." Shinji whispered to the voice in his head. His eyes grew heavy, and he slowly closed them. Blackness enveloped the Third Child as he slipped from the realm of conscious thought and into the land of dreams.  
  
***  
  
Shinji was alone, sitting in a chair in front of an empty stage. The lights were off, and he couldn't see anything on the stage except darkness. Suddenly, everything went dark, and the stage lights turned on, revealing a scene that Shinji remembered very well.  
  
***  
  
Shinji and Rei were alone in her room, in a very awkward position. Shinji's nervousness and clumsiness had caused them both to fall, and now he was too taken aback to move. The stunned Third Child was kneeling over a naked First Child, his hand in a very comfortable place.  
  
The sounds of construction echoed through the building for a few tense seconds.  
  
"Will you get off?" Rei asked him in her usual tone of voice. He looked around for a moment, and then realized exactly what was happening. He pondered the situation for a moment, and then grinned evilly and moved to straddle her, pinning her to the ground.  
  
"Sure Rei," He told her as he began to take off his shirt. "I'll get off. You probably won't though, but that doesn't matter."  
  
"What are you-" Rei began, but was cut off by a slap to the face.  
  
"Shut up!" Shinji yelled as her, and started unbuckling his belt and sliding his pants off. "Be quiet and you might enjoy yourself."  
  
Rei tried to force the Third Child off herself, but he was too strong. She continued to writhe in his grasp until another slap to her reddening face caused her to cease. She began battering the boy with her free arms, quietly begging him to stop, but he quickly pinned them to her sides and silenced her protests with a brutal kiss.  
  
Helpless, Rei could only pray that it would be over soon.  
  
It was the first time she could ever remember crying.  
  
***  
  
"What the hell is this?" Shinji yelled, shocked as he watched the scene continue to unfold. "This isn't how it happened! I would never do that!"  
  
You wanted to.  
  
"What?" Shinji exclaimed, shocked at both the voice in his mind and the implications of its statement. "N-no I didn't! I mean... I d-did... but not like this!"  
  
What difference does it make? She hates you anyway.  
  
"It's still wrong! I would never do anything like this!"  
  
They're using you. You might as well use them back.  
  
Shinji could only shake his head and cringe as the scene became more... gratuitous. Slowly, the stage faded to black once more, and the grunts and whimpers ceased. The lights slowly came back on, but the scene was different.  
  
The Third Child turned his head away, trying not to look, but strong hands gripped his head and forced him to watch another familiar event unfold itself.  
  
***  
  
Misato, Kensuke, Touji, Asuka, and he were standing on the deck of the UN super carrier 'Over the Rainbow.' Asuka walked past Touji, whose cheek was throbbing from two slaps to the face, "So, which one is the famous Third Child?"  
  
She glanced at Touji and made a disappointed face, "Ach, nein."  
  
"Don't worry Asuka," Misato told her. She tilted her head towards the quiet, unassuming boy standing to her left. "It's him."  
  
Asuka leaned forward to scrutinize the young boy, and gave him a short stare. She slumped her shoulders slightly. "Hmmm... Not much to look at."  
  
Shinji's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, "I could say the same for you. We wanted a pilot and they sent us a bitchy little girl."  
  
"What?" Asuka exclaimed, her features turning furiously red. "Care to repeat that, Third Child?"  
  
"Sure, I said you're an inept, spoiled bitch. Why don't you go crying back to your mother in Germany, because nobody wants you around here," Shinji paused and grinned evilly. "Wait, I forgot, she's dead! Of course, it's not like she'd want you any more than we do, considering that she thought a doll was better than her real daughter!"  
  
Everyone on the deck was stunned to silence. Tears began to well up in Asuka's eyes, and she raised a hand to slap the boy. Shinji was much quicker, and he viciously backhanded her across the face, causing her collapse to the deck.  
  
"How disgusting," Shinji sneered as he walked passed the sobbing Second Child, frowning disdainfully.  
  
***  
  
"Asuka, no!" Shinji cried to the "actor" on the stage. When she didn't respond, his head sunk into his hands in defeat. His voice became little more than a whisper. "That's not me. I would never try to hurt you."  
  
Why not?  
  
"Because... I..." Shinji began, but couldn't finish.  
  
You tried to be nice, but she hates you anyway. Why not show her how it feels?  
  
"I'm not like that!"  
  
All you do is cause pain.  
  
"I don't mean to. I don't want to hurt anyone."  
  
All you can do is cause pain.  
  
"I DON'T WANT TO!"  
  
The voice in his mind went silent for a long while, and the lights on the stage dimmed until the whole room was shrouded in darkness once more. The dark was so thick that it seemed almost tangible, and Shinji couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. For what seemed like hours, the shadows were all Shinji could see. Slowly, the darkness on the stage was banished as the lights turned back on.  
  
***  
  
Asuka repetitively tapped her finger on the wooden table, bored to tears, and tried to think of something to pass the time. An idea surfaced in her mind, and she toyed with it for a few seconds before steadying her resolve.  
  
"Hey Shinji," she said to the boy sitting a few feet from her. He had his SDAT turned on, but she knew he was paying attention to her. He always did. "You wanna kiss me?"  
  
"Huh?" the Third Child's eyes widened slightly, and he took out his ear buds. "What?"  
  
"Kissing. You know," Asuka continued. "Have you ever done it?"  
  
Shinji nodded his head slowly, still in a state of disbelief. Was this really happening? Was he dreaming again? It certainly seemed like a dream he'd have. Boy and girl are alone in the house, girl is bored and wearing very little clothing. Yep, this was probably a Shinji dream.  
  
Asuka raised her head from the table and looked at him. "So let's do it."  
  
Shinji was slightly taken aback. Even for a dream, this was kind of weird. "But why?"  
  
"I've got nothing else to do," the Second Child told him and the intent for mischief clear in her tone of voice.  
  
"Uhh. that's your reason?" Shinji stammered. He looked down at the floor. "You're weird."  
  
Asuka decided to prod him a bit. "Afraid to kiss a girl on the anniversary of your mom's death? Is she watching you from up in heaven?"  
  
"That's not it."  
  
"Or are you scared?" she asked him, the smirk on her face that Shinji had always hated. He was now pretty sure that this wasn't a dream. The Asuka's in his dreams were more... submissive. Regardless, this was real, and he was really about to kiss her. Really.  
  
"I'm not afraid," he said as he stood up. "Pucker up!"  
  
"Right," Asuka said as she stood to meet him. "Did you brush your teeth?"  
  
Shinji nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"Then here I come," she said as she approached him. They both closed their eyes as Asuka leaned in to initiate the lip-lock. Shinji's cheeks were flushed from embarrassment and nervousness in equal amounts. He waited for a moment before opening his eyes. Asuka was staring at him, mere inches from his face.  
  
"Stop breathing, it's tickling me!" the redhead told him. Before he could even think to reply, her hand shot up and pinched his nose shut. The next thing he knew, their lips were mashed together clumsily. She began moaning slightly as she explored his mouth.  
  
Suddenly, a thought occurred to the oxygen-deficient Third Child.  
  
She was using him.  
  
She was taking what she wanted from him.  
  
She didn't care about him.  
  
She hated him.  
  
The pent up rage within him reached the bursting point, and Shinji's hands moved up to encircle her neck. He began squeezing, and Asuka's eyes shot open. She began to flail wildy, but he was too strong. He kept their lips pressed together, began kissing her back.  
  
She could take what she wanted now, but she wouldn't take ever again.  
  
Slowly her thrashing stopped, and the light left her eyes. Shinji let the body fall to the ground, and then went to go watch some television.  
  
***  
  
"STOP IT!" Shinji cried as the scene on stage ended and the lights dimmed once more. He buried his face in his hands and began sobbing quietly. "Please stop... I don't want to see any more..."  
  
Why not?  
  
"Because it's not real!"  
  
But it is real. This is just as real as anything else you've ever done. This is real because it is exactly what you are capable of. What makes it even more real is the fact that you truly want to do it.  
  
"No! No, I don't! I don't want to hurt anyone!"  
  
Yes you do. You want to hurt them all. They hate you, so why not? Because you're afraid? You have the power, you have the ability. You just have to open your heart to it.  
  
"No," was all Shinji could say. He repeated it over and over again between sobs. "No. No. No."  
  
Do it. Take your revenge. Then, and only then, will you be ready to join with me. When we join, all the pain in the world will cease. The tortured souls that cry out for an end will be at peace.  
  
"Shut up," Shinji whispered. "Shut up, I don't want to listen. Shut up, shut up, shut up! I don't want to be here any more! Misato? Misato! Help me, please! Somebody! Anybody..."  
  
They won't help you.  
  
***  
  
Shinji was snapped from his nightmare by the sound of the bell that signaled the end of class and the beginning of lunch. He raised his head, and saw that a young girl was standing before him, clutching a bento box. She smiled nervously and held it out for him.  
  
"Ummm... Shinji," the girl said. She was blushing deeply. The fact that everyone in the class was staring at the pair didn't help her disposition. "This... I made this for you... I hope you like it."  
  
The Third Child narrowed his eyes dangerously.  
  
He sighed loudly, and got out of his desk to stand before the girl. "What's your name?"  
  
"I-I'm Takako. Takako Shimizu," she told him, the apprehension showing through plainly in her voice.  
  
"Well Takako, let me show you something," Shinji smirked at her. His smirk turned into a snarl as he fiercely slapped the bento box from her hands and sent it soaring into a wall, where it shattered and spilled its contents over the floor. Judging by the condition of the food inside, it was clear that Takako had taken great care in making this for him. "I don't want anything from you. Get out of here; you disgust me."  
  
Tears began to form in the girl's eyes, and she turned and ran out the door. Several frightened students followed her, while others stood up and glared at Shinji menacingly. They, too, hastily retreated when the Third Child sent withering gazes their way. Shinji snorted in disdain when no one would rise to challenge him, but he was suddenly spun around to face a very angry redhead.  
  
"What the hell is your problem, Third Child?" Asuka shouted at him. Her left hand was planted firmly on his shoulder, prohibiting any possible escape. Her right hand was flexing instinctively, and Shinji grinned when he noticed that she had picked up his habit.  
  
"Are you going to hit me?" he asked her. "Or are you just going to kiss me again?"  
  
A collective gasp echoed around the room, and the German girl blushed furiously. Her grip on his shoulder weakened slightly, allowing Shinji to wrench free of her grasp.  
  
"Either way," he continued. "All you do is abuse me."  
  
Shinji walked out of the room, but not before sending another contemptuous gaze across the class. Asuka was at a total loss for words, and all she could do was return to her seat in silence. In a few more moments, the incident was pushed to the back of the minds of the students of 2-A, as they uneasily tried to move on to more pleasant topics. Still, rumors were beginning to form, and by the end of lunch the entire school would be buzzing with gossip.  
  
Hikari and Asuka were eating lunch together silently, neither daring to be the first to voice their opinion on the matter. The quiet soon grew too much for the class representative, and she opened her mouth to speak when she was interrupted by a monotonous voice.  
  
"Pilot Sohryu," Rei said. Neither Hikari nor Asuka were sure when the First Child had walked over to them, but they were used to her ghostly movements by now. Asuka looked up at the blue-haired girl and frowned.  
  
"What is it Wondergirl?" Asuka sneered. "I'm trying to eat lunch."  
  
"I wish to ask you a question," Rei began, but then paused for a moment. "Do you know what has caused this sudden shift in behavior for pilot Ikari?"  
  
"How the hell should I know what's wrong with that pervert?" Asuka yelled. Her sudden shouting sent a startled Hikari reeling slightly, though Rei didn't react at all.  
  
"You and he share a domicile," the First Child continued. "It would be prudent to assume that you have some knowledge as to his mental well- being."  
  
The redhead went back eating her lunch. "For your information, Wondergirl, I haven't been there since before Shinji got out of the hospital. I've been staying at Hikari's to get away from that dummkoph."  
  
"Then perhaps it would be sensible to have someone stay with him for the duration of your absence," Rei offered. "Major Katsuragi's guardianship skills leave much to be desired."  
  
Asuka looked up from her bento box to stare at the First Child once more, who was wearing her typical unreadable expression. She glanced at Hikari, who had a concerned look on her face. Asuka threw her arms up in defeat. "Fine! I'll move back in with the Third Child and keep an eye on him. Why the sudden interest in that pervert anyway, Wondergirl?"  
  
"I am concerned," Rei said slowly. "I believe he is unwell, but does not realize how badly."  
  
***  
  
Shinji walked aimlessly through the halls of the school, which were mostly vacant since most students ate their lunch in the classrooms or outside. He was hungry, since he didn't have a lunch prepared and had no money to buy food. What's more, he was wracked with guilt over what he had done to Takako, when all she had done was offered him a bento.  
  
"Why did I do that?" Shinji muttered to himself. He had been quietly admonishing himself since he had walked out of the classroom. "What the hell is wrong with me?"  
  
You enjoyed it. That's why you did it.  
  
"No," Shinji cried, gripping the sides of his head as he stumbled down the hall. "No, I didn't! I feel awful!"  
  
It doesn't matter. Soon you shall lose your grip on humanity. Then you will be ready to join with me.  
  
"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"  
  
"Don't tell me to shut up, asshole," a deep, unfamiliar voice said from in front of him. When Shinji opened his eyes and looked up, he noticed that he was standing in front of a group of boys. The largest boy was glaring at him angrily.  
  
Shinji slowly lowered his hands from the sides of his head and collected himself enough to speak. "Who're you? What do you want?"  
  
The big student frowned. He had already said all this once, and he hated repeating himself. "I'm Takako's brother, Minoru, and I'm here to beat the shit out of you for making my sister cry like that."  
  
"Takako..." Shinji murmured as he lowered his gaze. He definitely deserved whatever these boys were going to do to him. He looked up at Minoru. "I'm so-" Shinji's apology was cut off when Minoru smashed a fist into the Third Child's jaw.  
  
He barely flinched.  
  
There were several gasps of astonishment from the crowd. This was Minoru, easily the biggest student in the school. Nobody had ever managed to keep standing after even one of his punches. Minoru was equally as perplexed as the multitude of students that surrounded the pair, and raised a hand for another punch to the scrawny Third Child.  
  
The second punch hit Shinji directly in the chest, and he toppled over as searing pain coursed through his body. He suddenly felt as if all his energy had been drained from him. Blackness danced at the edges of his vision, and the Third Child gradually slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing he saw was a laughing Minoru Shimizu.  
  
***  
  
Touji was having a pleasant dream in his hospital bed, involving himself and Hikari, when he was jolted awake by the sound of someone entering his room. His eyes were still blurry from sleep, but he could still make out the pure white uniform of the nurse.  
  
"Is that you, Nurse Yumi?" Touji croaked slowly. He was still very tired, and would have preferred a few more hours of sleep. When he received no answer, his muddled mind assumed she was just too wrapped up in her duties to notice. "How are you today? Did that date with your boyfriend go well? What am I saying, you got advice from me! Did you do what I told you to?"  
  
By this time Touji's brain, though still weary, was registering that something was not quite right. The nurse was just standing over him, holding something shiny and muttering under her breath. He blinked rapidly to clear his tired eyes. "Nurse Yumi? What are you doing?"  
  
Touji's vision cleared, and he finally realized that the person standing over him was not the nurse. "Who're yommmffhgh!" The woman put a hand over his mouth to silence his protests. He reached his only remaining arm up to fight her off, but she pinned that down with her elbow.  
  
"Oh, heavenly father," the woman was whispering. "Please forgive this child for his transgressions against your messengers, and please bless his soul on its journey to the hereafter." She kissed the silver object that she was clutching, and Touji realized exactly what it was...  
  
...A cross, with the bottom portion filed down to a sharp edge.  
  
Touji didn't have time to scream as the woman buried the sharp edge of the cross deep within his heart. He watched her in mute disbelief as she took out a photo and tore it in two pieces. Then, she reached into her uniform and took out another picture. Just as Touji's vision was beginning to fade into darkness, he saw who was in that picture.  
  
Shinji Ikari.  
  
Then, Touji Suzuhara knew only the sweet nothingness of oblivion.  
  
To be continued...  
  
***  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES  
  
Thus, the second chapter of the second version of Ascension sees the light. That was a fun chapter to write, for a number of reasons. One, I got to be mean to a bunch of characters, and two, I got to kill of somebody. Why Touji, you ask? Well, I really hate all those Touji/Asuka pairings, so I suppose this is my way of taking my petty revenge. Yeah, that'll do... *eyes shift back and forth evilly*  
  
On a side note, it was surprisingly hard to write the part with Tokako. Not because I couldn't think of something mean to do, but I was hesitant to actually write it out. Weird. Now I have this urge to make Shinji apologize, and have them live happily ever after. I doubt that will happen though. I mean, would any girl ever even consider a boy after he did something like that? That's an interesting point. Alright, the question I send out to everyone who decides to write a review is this: Would you forgive Shinji?  
  
Next chapter should be up soon! Ciao! 


	4. Chapter 03: The Spirit is Willing, but t...

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Ascension  
  
By Crooky Crookerson  
  
Disclaimer: If you think I own Evangelion, you are r...........ong. See, I had you thinking I was about to say right, didn't I? But, see, even without the W, it's still pronounced RONG, so it sounds the same. See, it's funny! HAHAHAHA!  
  
Chapter Three: The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak  
  
***  
  
Misato, Kensuke, Touji, Asuka, and he were standing on the deck of the UN super carrier 'Over the Rainbow.' Asuka walked past Touji, whose cheek was throbbing from two slaps to the face, "So, which one is the famous Third Child?"  
  
She glanced at Touji and made a disappointed face, "Ach, nein."  
  
"Don't worry Asuka," Misato told her. She tilted her head towards the quiet, unassuming boy standing to her left. "It's him."  
  
Asuka leaned forward to scrutinize the young boy, and gave him a short stare. She slumped her shoulders slightly. "Hmmm... Not much to look at."  
  
Shinji's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, "I could say the same for you. We wanted a pilot and they sent us a bitchy little girl."  
  
"What?" Asuka exclaimed, her features turning furiously red. "Care to repeat that, Third Child?"  
  
"Sure, I said you're an inept, spoiled bitch. Why don't you go crying back to your mother in Germany, because nobody wants you around here," Shinji paused and grinned evilly. "Wait, I forgot, she's dead! Of course, it's not like she'd want you any more than we do, considering that she thought a doll was better than her real daughter!"  
  
Everyone on the deck was stunned to silence. Tears began to well up in Asuka's eyes, and she raised a hand to slap the boy. Shinji was much quicker, and he viciously backhanded her across the face, causing her collapse to the deck.  
  
"How disgusting," Shinji sneered as he walked passed the sobbing Second Child, frowning disdainfully.  
  
***  
  
Shinji stood in an infinite expanse of nothingness as he watched the familiar scene unfold before him once again. Even when he shut his eyes tightly, he could still see Asuka weeping pitifully on the deck of the massive carrier. He was vaguely aware that he was dreaming, but that knowledge didn't banish the sick feeling that he had in his stomach from the sight of the horrible scene, nor did it grant him any measure of control over the nightmare.  
  
"Stop it," Shinji cried pathetically. "I don't want to see this again. Please make it stop!"  
  
But you do want to see this.  
  
"No, that's not true! Stop it, stop it, stop it!"  
  
You want to see her in pain. You want to see them all suffer. You want to use your power to crush them.  
  
"No I don't!" the Third Child whimpered and curled into a ball, trying to become as small as possible. He shut his eyes even tighter, but could still see the horrible scene as it replayed over and over, faster and faster. "I don't want to hurt anyone!"  
  
Suddenly, his surroundings shifted. Shinji slowly raised his head and opened his eyes. His vision, slightly blurry from being shut so tightly, cleared little by little until he realized he was surrounded by people he recognized. Asuka, Misato, Rei, Touji, Kensuke, Hikari... they were all here. Everyone he had ever met was standing around him, even those people he could only barely recall.  
  
They all looked very angry.  
  
"We hate you, Shinji," Misato told him.  
  
"We hate you, Pilot Ikari," Rei told him.  
  
"We all hate you, Third Child," Asuka told him.  
  
More and more of the surrounding people began to take up the chant. With each person that spoke up, the voices became louder, until each individual was screaming as loud as possible, trying to drown out the others in their declarations of hatred. Shinji could only stare in mute horror as the mob worked themselves into a frenzy.  
  
Then, Shinji was hit in the back of the head by a hard object.  
  
He doubled over in pain, and, through the tears in his eyes, saw that the crowd was beginning to throw stones at him. More of the projectiles struck him, and he instinctively curled into a protective ball. Unbelievable pain shot up and down his abused body, and Shinji swore he could hear bones cracking under the constant impacts.  
  
"Stop it!" Shinji cried, though he could barely hear his own voice over the shouting crowd. "Stop it, please stop! Don't hurt me anymore!"  
  
You have the power.  
  
Shinji could hardly register the voice in his mind anymore. The pain was overcoming his senses, and his vision was slowly turning to complete blackness. Shinji was sure that he was dying. Everyone he knew hated him so much that they wanted him dead.  
  
Feel the power within yourself.  
  
"Stop it, please!" Shinji begged yet again, but the unforgiving mass of people weren't listening to his pleas.  
  
Open yourself to the power.  
  
"I want the power!" Shinji cried suddenly, his desperation reaching its limit. "Give it to me!"  
  
The battered Third Child didn't know exactly what happened next. There was a blinding flash of light, and he had to tightly shut his eyes to block out the radiance. There was agonized screaming. The rocks weren't being thrown anymore. Slowly, the screams of pain died down and turned to pitiful whimpers.  
  
Shinji slowly opened his eyes.  
  
All around him were twisted bodies of the people he had known. Their blood drenched the floor, flowing freely from countless horrific wounds. Shinji spotted a mass of tangled red hair among the gore, and immediately ran to the familiar girl's side. He knelt down and cradled Asuka's form in his lap.  
  
The Second Child slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at Shinji with saddened eyes, and opened her mouth to speak. Blood and spittle came out between words. "Why... Shinji?"  
  
Tears began to form in the boy's eyes. "Asuka... I'm sorry... I don't know what happened... I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to..." Shinji's voice died away when he noticed that Asuka was no longer looking at him. Her eyes were vacant, staring sightlessly at the endless sky above.  
  
All you can do is cause pain.  
  
"Noooooooo!!"  
  
***  
  
Shinji suddenly awoke to find himself laying in bed at home, still in his school uniform and tightly tucked in under the blankets. It was night time and the moon was out, casting a faint glow through his blinds and onto his face. Though his door was shut, Shinji could hear the unmistakable sounds of late-night television coming from down the hall in the living room.  
  
Slowly sitting up in bed, though he had to pause when he began to feel light-headed, Shinji tossed the covers aside and planted his feet firmly on the floor. He stood up on wobbly legs, nearly falling on several occasions as his knees threatened to give way under him. He was about to call out to see who was home, when he discovered that his voice was weak and rasping. Cringing as his throat painfully admonished him for trying to speak,  
  
Now fully awake, Shinji noticed a dull throbbing in his chest. Absently, he reached out a hand and rubbed the sore spot, but the light touch caused a spark of pain to shoot through his body. Shinji unbuttoned his shirt and gazed down at the spot on his chest. It was swollen and slightly bloated, with tiny of red veins trailing outward from the area. Tiny drops of blood were forming and dripping down his torso.  
  
"How did this.?" Shinji muttered quietly. "From the fight?" Still too dazed to think straight, he left his bedroom and moved into the bathroom. Grabbing the first aid kit from under the sink, Shinji set about cleaning and dressing the wound. Due to that nature of their jobs, all Evangelion pilots were required to take basic medical and he did a fairly good job bandaging himself, though pain would still flare up whenever he even barely touched his chest.  
  
Sighing to himself, Shinji left the bathroom and walked into the living room. Asuka sat on the floor in her casual clothes and staring at the television. She didn't bother to acknowledge the boy as he entered the room and planted himself firmly on the couch.  
  
Neither of the children spoke for many moments, and the only sound in the apartment was the melodramatic dialogue of the actors on the TV. However, even from his spot behind her, the Third Child could tell that Asuka wasn't really paying attention to the show.  
  
"H-hey Asuka..." Shinji began hesitantly. "Ummm... how are you?"  
  
Asuka hissed a reply, but Shinji couldn't hear it over the noise from the TV. "What did you say, Asuka?" Shinji asked. "I missed that."  
  
"I said," Asuka began. She turned and glared at him fiercely. "Shut up, Third Child. Just because I'm back doesn't mean that I want to talk to you." Having made her point, she went back to watching the TV.  
  
"Oh," Shinji said, disheartened. "Sorry."  
  
"I said shut up, damnit!" Asuka yelled. Shinji flinched and, after moment's consideration, decided that the kitchen was far safer than the living room. Besides, he was really hungry. He left the company of the fiery redhead and soundlessly made his way towards the fridge, being careful to avoid annoying Asuka in any way.  
  
Shinji wasn't surprised to find that the fridge and all the cupboards were empty. He clearly remembered the incident from that morning, and really hadn't expected Misato to go shopping. There was a wad of cash on the table, as well as a note that mentioned Misato wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning at the earliest. It also said that Misato wanted to speak with Shinji. He already knew what about.  
  
With nothing else to occupy his interest, Shinji flopped down on a chair and began a staring contest with the wall clock.  
  
Exactly four minutes and fifty six seconds passed before Asuka made her way into the kitchen and sat down across from Shinji. Whatever had been on the television had not been interesting enough to hold her interested. She crossed her arms over the table, rested her head on them, and began staring at the wall.  
  
"I'm hungry," she mentioned offhandedly.  
  
"There's no food left," Shinji replied hesitantly. "Misato left cash, so we can go out and grab something... if you want, that is."  
  
"I know," Asuka replied. There was a long pause before sat up and looked at the Third Child. "Why'd you do that, Shinji? To Takako, I mean."  
  
Shinji flinched at the mention of the girl he had scorned and lowered his gaze to stare at the floor. "I... I don't know... When I think about it now, it's like I'm watching from a distance... Like it's not really me saying those things... I don't..."  
  
Asuka paused as she digested the information. She sighed and grabbed the money from the table. "Let's go get something to eat."  
  
***  
  
Both of the teens were silent as they left the apartment building. To be honest, neither really wanted to be around the other, but walking around the city alone at this hour was downright foolish, even with Section 2 watching their every move. Shinji had already proven that their ubiquitous bodyguards could be outwitted.  
  
Though they had both changed into warmer outfits before leaving, the night air easily penetrated through their layered clothing. Shinji noticed that his companion was shivering.  
  
"Do you want my jacket?" Shinji asked. Her reply was a quick shake of head. Despite her protest, Shinji slipped off his coat and put it around her shoulders.  
  
"Bold move, Third Child," Asuka told him. Shinji blushed.  
  
The pair continued walking, and turned into a park to cut a few minutes off their travel time. Neither realized that they were being followed.  
  
***  
  
Rebecca Klein, Righteous Sword of the Heavenly Father, followed the Second and Third Children as they turned into the shadowy park. She pitied them, these innocent, unwitting fools. They were little more than dolls that were being played with by a far more sinister corporation, and, because of this, had to be laid to rest. Luckily, for their sake, they were allowed a quick death.  
  
Rebecca, her black overcoat blending perfectly with the darkness, moved into a light covering of bushes and opened the briefcase she was carrying. She removed the handgun and attached the silencer and a small targeting scope, inserted the consecrated silver bullets and whispered a prayer of forgiveness.  
  
She waited until the Second Child was directly in her line of sight, and then pulled the trigger.  
  
***  
  
Shinji wasn't sure exactly what happened. He heard a quick snapping noise, and saw a dull flash out of the corner of his eye. Instinct took over, and everything seemed to slow to a crawl. Without a moment to spare, he shoved Asuka out of the way and suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his back.  
  
Both he and the redhead toppled to the ground, Shinji on top of the cursing girl.  
  
"What the hell's your problem, Third Child?" Asuka screamed at him. Then she noticed that he wasn't moving, and there was dark red stain blossoming on his back. "Shinji? Shinji!!"  
  
Shinji couldn't hear her.  
  
***  
  
Rebecca cursed as the Third Child oriented himself in front of the sanctified bullet. She had known that the Third one was different than the others, his demon engine more savage and powerful than the rest, but she had no idea that he could move faster than a bullet.  
  
He must be a demon incarnate.  
  
Reciting litanies of hatred passed down through her order for hundreds of years, Rebecca drew her silver cross and stepped out of the bushes. Her face set as a resolute mask, the assassin stepped onto the trail and walked over to the two teens and raised the holy weapon.  
  
Asuka looked up at the stranger, who had seemingly appeared from nowhere. "Don't just stand there, stupid! Help me! He's hurt!"  
  
"Oh, heavenly father," she began, blocking out the redhead's demands for help. "Please forgive these children for their transgressions against your messengers, and please bless their souls on their journeys to the hereafter."  
  
"What the hell are-" Asuka shouted, but was cut off when the black-clad woman plunged her weapon into Shinji's back. For a moment, there was nothing but silence.  
  
Then Shinji stood up.  
  
"Demon!" the assassin hissed, then pulled her weapon out of the boy's back. Shinji, blood pouring from both wounds in his back, turned to the woman. His eyes were hollow and his movements were somewhat unsteady, yet unbelievable power propelled him forward.  
  
His eyes flashed dimly, and he leapt at the woman. She slashed her sharpened holy icon across his chest, but that only drove him onward. The pair grappled as Asuka looked on, stunned to silence.  
  
Shinji was clearly stronger, and quickly gained the upper hand. He kicked out, stunning Rebecca and sending her tumbling to the ground a few feet away. In the blink of an eye, the Third Child had crossed the short distance, and grabbed Rebecca's arm. He twisted fiercely, and series of snaps echoed through the night air.  
  
Rebecca cried out in pain as Shinji tore off her arm at the shoulder. Blood spattered on the ground, and she clutched at her ghastly wound. The Third Child casually tossed the appendage aside and lifted the woman into the air with a single arm.  
  
The two paused for a long moment as they looked into each others' eyes.  
  
"D-der Geist ist willig... aber das Fleisch... ist schwach," the woman managed to utter, clenching her teeth from the pain. Her pain was mercifully ended when her neck was snapped, and Shinji let the body fall to the ground. Then, he simply stood still, not moving and barely breathing.  
  
There was a long pause before Asuka recovered from her astonishment. She hesitantly called out to the silent boy. "Shinji?"  
  
Shinji turned around slowly and, when he saw Asuka, the hollow look left his eyes. He took a step forward, but stumbled and collapsed to the ground. The Second Child stood up and ran over to him. He was unconscious and bleeding badly. She quickly pulled out her cellular phone and dialed Misato's number.  
  
***  
  
Misato arrived only minutes later, bringing a whole NERV medical team with her. They followed behind the ambulance in Misato's Renault, though it seemed like the speeding Major would overtake the ambulance at any moment. Asuka was relating what happened to her too-quiet guardian.  
  
"...and then he collapsed and I called you," Asuka finished.  
  
"You were attacked by a foreign woman," Misato muttered quietly. She glanced at the redhead. "Asuka, Touji Suzuhara was found dead yesterday. He was killed in the hospital. I think it's now pretty obvious someone is after you pilots."  
  
"Mein Gott, why didn't you tell us?!" Asuka snapped. "We could have been killed! Shinji's probably as good as dead!"  
  
"I didn't want to upset you," Misato replied, fear and remorse turning her voice into a pathetic croak. "I didn't know about Suzuhara until a few hours ago and, with the mess that brought up, all I could do until I got off work was to ask Section 2 to post more agents around the apartment." Misato turned off the car as it pulled onto an elevator heading down into the Geofront. "But... this woman... she avoided or disabled all the agents."  
  
"Misato," Asuka interrupted. "About the woman. She said something strange before Shinji ki... before she died. She said, 'The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.'"  
  
Misato paused as she considered the words. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Asuka replied. Both occupants of the car lapsed into silence as the elevator continued its steady descent through the Geofront.  
  
***  
  
Hours later, Misato and Asuka waited patiently outside Shinji's room in the NERV infirmary. The operation to remove the bullet from Shinji's back had taken well over two hours, since it was located between a lung and an artery. Looking through the window, they could see that they had Shinji hooked up to all manner of life support devices. The doctor who had been examining the Third Child stepped out of the room and walked over to the pair.  
  
"Major Katsuragi?" the Doctor asked. When Misato nodded, he handed her a small clipboard. "I'm Doctor Fukamachi. These are the Third Child's vitals. If you compare them to the readout we took only a few days ago, you should notice some discrepancies; most notably a further increase in muscle mass."  
  
Misato opened her mouth to say something, but the redheaded girl beat her to the punch. "Will he live?"  
  
Doctor Fukamachi sighed before answering. "Yes... but that isn't what concerns me. If you look at the Third Child's x-rays, you'll notice that several of his ribs are broken. Under the circumstances, that isn't wholly unimaginable. However, the break pattern is reversed."  
  
"Meaning what, exactly?" Misato asked.  
  
"Meaning," the Doctor replied. "That something inside of his chest is forcing its way outwards."  
  
"What?" Misato asked, startled. "What is it?"  
  
"We did every test we could think of," the Doctor answered. "But in all our visual readouts, the umm... thing... only appears as a large black blotch."  
  
"Then why don't you get it out?" Asuka yelled. "Get to surgery! Operate on him already!"  
  
"It's not that simple," Doctor Fukamachi continued. "While it may be hurting him, it's also somehow connected to all of his major organs. It's keeping him alive. The stab and gunshot wounds should have killed him, but that thing, whatever it is, is sustaining his body."  
  
Misato handed back the clipboard and thanked the doctor, who was paged over the intercom moments later. He took a moment to assure them that Shinji would be fine, and then left for the front desk. Misato and Asuka stood outside of Shinji's room for a few more moments before leaving the hospital.  
  
***  
  
Far from Tokyo-3, in a mansion hidden on the northernmost tip of Japan, two men stood looking out the window at the rising sun. Both were dressed in the crisp suits of businessmen and wore ornate silver crosses around their necks.  
  
The taller of the pair turned to his companion. "Has our agent accomplished her mission yet?"  
  
"No, Mr. Makashima, she has failed," the shorter one replied. "I fear that it was a mistake bringing in a foreigner. I submit myself to whatever punishment you feel is necessary."  
  
"Don't be preposterous, Tsukasa," Makashima replied, waving a hand dismissively to accentuate his point. "You only did what you thought would expedite the cause. No one can punish you for that." He paused in thought. "Still, this failure may put our secrecy at risk. We will have to advance the schedule slightly, if we are to meet the proper requirements. Have our operatives in Tokyo-3 contacted us yet?"  
  
"No, sir," Tsukasa replied.  
  
Makashima smiled a toothy grin like that of a hunting cat about to strike. "Good. Tell them to go ahead with the harvest, and that I will be joining them in Tokyo-3 by week's end."  
  
Tsukasa was about to reply, when he was interrupted by the beeping from his cellular phone. He smiled at Makashima. "That would be them now." The short man answered his phone. "Put them through."  
  
Makashima grinned as Tsukasa relayed the orders. Nothing could stand in his way now, and the time of awakening was fast approaching.  
  
***  
  
Minutes later, in a run down apartment in Tokyo-3, Rei Ayanami was lying awake in bed, naked as usual, and considering the events of only a few hours previous. Pilot Ikari was injured, nearly killed. This gave her an uncomfortable feeling, one she didn't like at all.  
  
"I do not want Pilot Ikari hurt." Rei pondered. "Do I... Do I love him? Is this love?"  
  
Rei's musings were interrupted by a knock at the door. Of course, since Rei never answered her door, she didn't bother to move from her spot on the bed. A few seconds passed, and suddenly the door was broken down. Masked forms rushed through the shattered portal and, before Rei could even blink, were surrounding her and holding her down.  
  
Another man entered through the door, dressed in the robes of a priest and holding a brown box. He moved to stand right beside Rei, and put the box down on the bed. "Hello, child."  
  
"What do you want?" Rei asked, calmly assessing the situation. Section 2 would be rushing in through the door any moment to remove these intruders. Her eyes calmly watched the robed man open the box and remove a syringe filled with a clear substance.  
  
"Fear not, child," the robed man said, and stuck the syringe into her neck. There was a slight sting as he injected the contents. "This will help you sleep. You won't feel a thing."  
  
True to his words, Rei felt her eyes growing heavy. Blackness played at the edges of her vision. The last thing she saw was the robed man leaning over her, holding a scalpel.  
  
To be continued...  
  
***  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES  
  
Thus ends the third chapter of Ascension. Not much to say about Ascension this time, but I do love to talk so I'll think of something. Well, the plot is starting to emerge. Who exactly is this shadowy group that has some sort of vendetta against the pilots? Exactly what ends are they working towards? Did I just kill off Rei? These, and less important answers in the next chapter of Ascension!  
  
Buh-bye! 


End file.
